Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dechlorinating device, a dechlorinating system, and a method of dechlorinating.
Description of Related Art
Public water systems (PWS) either treat or purchase water that has been treated to remove contaminants and pathogens deemed a public health hazard. Part of the treatment process is to disinfect the water with a chemical known to kill pathogens, such as chlorine and chloramine, a compound of chlorine and ammonia. PWS distribute potable (drinking) water to customers through a piping network distribution system. Most PWS must also maintain a disinfectant residual in the water in order to fight off any pathogens that could contaminate the water once it is in the distribution system. Water storage tanks are a component of the distribution system and each typically hold thousands or millions of gallons of water. The purpose of the storage tanks is to store excess water to feed water to the distribution system in periods of high usage, to provide water in times of emergency and fires, and to provide water to the system in times of power outage when pumps are out of service.
Storage tanks may contain one or more overflow pipes that discharge water out of the tank in the event the tank continues to fill beyond the “high water level” for which it was designed. This overflow prevents structural damage to the tank walls and roof that would occur if the tank continued to fill above the design limit.
While some overflow pipes discharge to the ground, others discharge into a stormwater collection system. All stormwater eventually gets discharged into a natural body of water including lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and oceans. The disinfectant, chlorine for example, that is dissolved in the water is toxic and, therefore, can be harmful to aquatic life. As such, many regulatory agencies require that any potable water with a disinfectant residual that will be discharged into a stormwater system must have the disinfectant removed (e.g., dechlorinated) to prevent harm to aquatic life. Failure to do so can result in significant fines until the issue is corrected. To date, there has not been a reliable device that can be installed on overflow pipes to automatically remove the disinfectant (e.g., dechlorinate) from discharged water and to be non-clog in nature. Thus, there is a need for a reliable device that can be installed on overflow pipes to automatically remove the disinfectant (e.g., dechlorinate) from discharged water and to be non-clog in nature.
Following the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001, the United States Congress passed the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (Bioterrorism Act). The Bioterrorism Act “requires community drinking water systems serving populations of more than 3,300 persons to conduct assessments of their vulnerabilities to terrorist attack or other intentional acts and to defend against adversarial actions that might substantially disrupt the ability of a system to provide a safe and reliable supply of drinking water.” One of the areas identified in the vulnerability assessments as a potential area of terrorist attack was storage tank overflow pipes whereby a terrorist could inject a dangerous or lethal liquid or gas into the overflow pipe that would then enter and contaminate the drinking water contained in the water storage tank. As such, there is also a need for an apparatus that could provide a layer of protection or security against such an attempt.